


How many times...

by Canidothislegally



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: An Endless cycle, Delirium, Identity Issues, Insanity, Time Travel, oof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canidothislegally/pseuds/Canidothislegally
Summary: The effects of messing with time show themselves.
Kudos: 16





	How many times...

**Author's Note:**

> More dark Fire Emblem!

How many times had she, or was it he this time, tried?

They were back at the steps to Sothis’s throne, and atop it sat Sothis herself. She looked down in disappointment, “It’s not going to work.”

Byleth wanted to shout, and found that she already was, “I can make it work! We just have to do it differently this time!”

Sothis stood up abruptly, “This time? Do you have any idea how many times you’ve said that, or how many times you’ve even tried?”

They shook their head, “It doesn’t matter. Not if I can save all of them.” 

A groan escaped the goddess. Byleth kept trying to save them all. The students, those of the church, and even Jeralt. It never ended well. “Get it through your head. You can’t do it! You can’t save all of them!”

Immediately Byleth was shouting again, “You don’t know that! I can do it! Maybe I just need to teach Caspar magic so he can attack the archer who killed him last time. Or maybe Mercedes should learn some riding skills so the assassins can’t get to her, or maybe-“

Sothis took a step a down the staircase, causing Byleth to stop. Then another step, and she began to list examples, “What about the time that you tried to negotiate peace talks?” 

“Most of them survived, there were only a few others left who I needed to save. If we try that ag-“

“What about the time you gave Jeralt an organized guard so he wouldn’t get stabbed?”

“It worked, and he lived!”

“Yes, but the war started earlier and Edelgard killed everyone else!”

Each step down was another failure, another time she had failed. He had failed. They had failed. 

Sothis looked at Byleth, taking another step down, “And forget the failures, let me ask you this, who do you love? One of them? None of them? All of them?”

Fragmented memories came to mind. Laughing with Dorothea, happily dancing with Felix, giving birth to her first child, Dimitri right beside her. Playing in the fields with his son and Leonie, helping Claude fix the world, and sharing a bed with Edelgard. 

All of them. None of them. Some of them. Sothis was right. Which ones were real? Which ones were simply a choice to see if things could turn out different? They couldn’t tell anymore, and perhaps it didn’t matter anymore.

Sothis finally stepped down off the last step, and spoke once more, “Stop, Byleth. Go back one more time, fall in love, and be content with that.”

But it wasn’t enough, not now, not anymore, “The only thing I’ll be content with is saving them, all of them.”

Byleth turned to leave, and as she turned around, time froze. Sothis sighed, and walked in the now frozen space. She paced back and forth, until she made her decision. She’d have to send Byleth back to the beginning, so that she could actually have a chance to not fall into this pit of insanity, of trying to find a perfect solution. 

A reset, if you will. 

As Sothis held her hand out in front of her, feeling time rewind, a soft, sad smile formed on her face.

How many times has she done this? 

She can’t remember anymore, and it doesn’t really matter.

She’d do anything to save Byleth. 

Time flowed backwards, and Sothis nodded. She could keep Byleth from reaching this point, this insanity.

This time...


End file.
